Introduction to Topps Complete Set Baseball Cards
Topps baseball cards have been a beloved part of American baseball culture since the 1950s. For decades, kids and collectors have enjoyed assembling and trading cards to try and complete full Topps card sets for each season. Completing a full Topps set is a memorable achievement for any card collector. Here we will examine the history of Topps complete sets and what it takes to finish one yourself.
Topps Beginnings and Early Sets
The Topps Company first started producing baseball cards in 1951. Their inaugural set had 382 cards depicting players and managers from the 1950 MLB season. Collecting the full set would have been relatively easy back then with so few cards to find. In the following years, Topps issued complete sets each season with cards featuring current players as well as retired legends. Early Topps sets typically numbered between 300-500 cards. Completing these early sets was very doable due to the small card counts and the popularity of collecting at the time leading to abundant availability through trading and retail stores.
Growing Sets and Increasing Challenges
As the 1950s progressed into the 1960s and beyond, Topps sets grew substantially larger each year. This made completing the full sets much more difficult. By the late 1950s, sets were topping 500 cards. Into the 1960s, counts breached 600 and eventually 700 cards per year. The 1979 Topps set ballooned to a then-monumental 792 cards! With so many more cards to find, locating the scarce short prints and late season additions became an immense challenge. Factors like players traded mid-season, call-ups from the minors, and injury replacements made some particular cards extremely elusive. It became far less common for the casual collector to piece together a complete Topps issue.
Chasing the Short Prints
A major obstacle in finishing sets is tracking down the scarce “short print” cards inserted less frequently among the standard base cards. Topps has included short prints in most sets from the 1960s onward. Their rarity varies widely, but some are remarkably tough finds. Notorious examples include the 1979 Topps Tim Raines card (#632), of which it’s estimated only 50-100 were printed. Some die-hard collectors spent decades in fruitless pursuit of this ultra-rare card alone. Other notoriously annoying short prints include the 1969 #624 (Dick Schofield), 1970 #477 (Darnell Coles), and 1984 #770 (Dave Stieb). The lack of checklists or print run data at the time made short prints practically indistinguishable from the common cards, greatly adding to the chase.
Checklists and the Internet Connect Collectors
The rise of baseball card checklists and the trading/selling facilitated by the internet have provided some important benefits to completing sets. Checklists first published by Beckett Baseball Card Monthly in the 1980s allowed collectors to clearly identify which cards they still needed. Online community forums and commerce sites now help collectors efficiently swap duplicates with others missing the same elusive cards worldwide. While short prints still present a steep challenge, today’s collectors don’t face quite the same lack of transparency or limited local trading options that hindered their predecessors.
Finishing Iconic Complete Sets
While daunting, completing entire highly popular Topps sets from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s is a crowning achievement that remains respected among hardcore collectors today. Some of the most iconic complete sets include:
1969: Considered one of the most beautiful designs, this 660-card set is extra difficult due to short prints and multi-player cards that require high-grade examples.
1973: At a mammoth 842 cards, finding all the key short prints like #660 Mike Andrews is an epic quest. High demand makes high-grade sets quite valuable.
1974: An aesthetically pleasing 714 cards highlighted by star rookies like Bench, Lynn, and Gullett that remains iconic over 45 years later.
1979: As mentioned above, the massive 792-card set presented unprecedented collection challenges due to pieces like the elusive Raines short print.
1982: Featuring rookie stars like Mattingly, Ripken, and Clemens, finishing the 660 cards of this classic design is a long-term project.
1987: Marking the base set’s transition to glossy photo style, this 792-card behemoth towers over other sets in size and cultural significance.
For those with the determination, patience and budget, overcoming the hurdles to finally check off one of these monumental Topps sets is a stamp of distinction among collectors worldwide. The journey of decades makes the achievement all the sweeter.
Conclusion
In over 65 years, Topps has created hundreds of distinct baseball card sets chronicling the sport’s history. While early sets were straightforward to complete, modern growing counts, short prints, and other elusive cards have made totaling even a single Topps issue an immense challenge for dedicated collectors. Arranging and finally checking off the last pieces of a coveted 1969, ‘74, or ‘87 series takes fortitude, expertise, generosity from fellow collectors, and sheer perseverance. Doing so earns respect within the hobby and provides lifelong memories of the collecting journey. Completing entire vintage Topps sets is truly a distinguished credit any card collector can be proud of.
